


Personality Quirks

by interorbitalteeth



Category: The Old Guard (Movie 2020)
Genre: ADHD! Joe, All and More Server Bingo, Fluff, Joe hyperfocusing on painting, M/M, Nicky uses they/them pronouns, Set in my trans Joe and nb Nicky modern AU, Square: Neurodivergent Joe, artist! Joe
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-02-22
Updated: 2021-02-22
Packaged: 2021-03-19 02:14:40
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 786
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/29619048
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/interorbitalteeth/pseuds/interorbitalteeth
Summary: When Joe and Nicky move in together, Nicky discovers some of their boyfriend's idiosyncrasies. One of them involves the way Joe paints.
Relationships: Joe | Yusuf Al-Kaysani/Nicky | Nicolò di Genova
Comments: 1
Kudos: 73





	Personality Quirks

**Author's Note:**

> Written for the "All & More Loves Joe" Server Bingo 2021, filling the square for Neurodivergent Joe!

Living with Joe full time now as lovers and roommates has exposed Nicky to many of their boyfriend's hidden idiosyncrasies. Like how he eats different things for breakfast depending on the weather, or how he can never find a matching pair of socks. Or how he sings seventies music in the shower, or how he yells at the TV in Dutch. All annoying and charming in their own respective ways. But Nicky certainly wasn't prepared for the personality quirks that surround Joe and his art.

When they moved into their new place together, they decided that the unused second bedroom would be suitable for Joe to use as his art studio. Because aside from teaching primary schoolers the basics of line, color, and form, Joe is an accomplished artist in his own right. Nicky themselves has been the subject of several of his pieces, including the rather scandalous one that Joe painted as a gift for their second anniversary. Nicky completely naked in their bed, basking in the glow of orgasm. It was completed shortly before they moved in together, and now has a place of honor in their walk in closet, because Nicky immediately vetoed hanging it in the sitting room above the faux fireplace.

It's the summer holidays, which means Joe is off work and can devote his time to his hobbies of jogging with barely anything on, arguing with Booker over football teams, and, of course, painting. Nicky wakes one morning to find themselves alone in bed, which almost never happens. Initially panic blares alarms in their head, their anxious mind immediately imagining the worst, but then they hear Dutch and Arabic pop music blaring from somewhere else in the apartment, and their panic turns to confusion.

They walk down the hall and find that the noise is coming from Joe's studio. The door is wide open, and Joe is in front of his easel, still wearing the clothes he was wearing the evening before, except they're now covered in countless flecks of paint. Nicky carefully tiptoes in but soon realizes that it's unlikely Joe would notice an elephant barging into the room. He's completely and utterly focused on the piece in front of him, his brush moving rapidly over the canvas. His sketchbook sits open on the floor nearby, and Nicky recognizes the sketches from their picnic date in the park a few days before. There they are, sitting on the checkered blanket, eating a cupcake, reading a book, lounging in the sunlight, standing by the pond.

Nicky is suddenly overcome by such affection for their talented boyfriend that it feels that their heart might burst. In Joe's eyes, they are the most beautiful person that has ever existed, and it shows in the loving way they're rendered on the pages of his sketchbook. Every line, every detail speaks volumes about the love they share. Even the silly doodles of Nicky with frosting on their nose are enough to make Nicky swoon.  
“I love you, too,” they murmur.

Joe lets out a cry of shock, whirling around to face them. Looking at his face, it's clear he's been up for most of the night, his normally bright eyes bloodshot and hazy. Nicky wants to scold him, but the dopey grin on Joe's face when they see them chases everything else from their mind.

“Morning, love,” they say. “Painting?”

Joe yawns. “It's morning already? Must've lost track of time.”

Nicky snorts. “Clearly. Do you want breakfast? Or are you still too busy?”

Joe shrugs. “Actually, come here and tell me what you think.”

“Oh, Joe, you know I don't -”

Joe shushes them, grabbing their wrist. “No, please, I want you to see!”

As they step in front of the canvas, Nicky lets out a gasp. It's them sitting on the blanket in the park, book in hand, sunlight dappled and elegant. Again, the love Joe has for them shows in every brushstroke.

This is what Joe sees when he looks at me, Nicky thinks. He really thinks I'm the most beautiful thing in the entire world.

“Well?” Joe asks.

In response, Nicky kisses him passionately. Joe lets out a surprised giggle before kissing them back, the two of them swaying slightly. They only part when Joe's foot accidentally kicks over the cup holding his brushes, but even then they just laugh, too content to panic.

“I think you need to get some sleep, dear,” Nicky says with a smile.

Joe nods, yawning again. “Yeah. Shower, then sleep. Care to join me?”

“For the shower, or the sleeping?”

“Why not both?”

And as Nicky is pulled along to the bathroom, they decide that, as Joe's quirks go, this one is more charming than annoying.


End file.
